Queen of spies - Paddy Hayes

From living in a tin-roofed shack north of Dar-es- Salaam to becoming Baroness Park of Monmouth, Daphne Park led a most unusual life - one that consisted of a lifelong love affair with the world of Britain's secret services. In the 1970s she was appointed to SIS's most senior operational rank as one of its seven Area Controllers- an extraordinary achievement for a women working within this most male-dominated and secretive of organisations. In this first biography for twenty years of any Cold War British spy -the defectors Philby and Blake apart - Paddy Hayes recounts the fascinating story of the evolution of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) from World War II to the Cold War and beyond through the eyes of one of its outstanding and most unusual operatives. He provides the reader with one of the most intimate narratives yet of how the modern SIS actually went about its busine Queen of Spies captures the paranoia, the real life 'wilderness of mirrors' aspect of intelligence work finally unveiling all that it may be possible to know about the life of one of Britain's most celebrated spies.ss whether in Moscow, Hanoi or the Congo.

Paddy Hayes was born in Cork and educated in Dublin and Harvard, Massachusetts. He has spent five decades researching the world of intelligence whilst developing business intelligence and market research companies from his native Ireland. His interest in politics extends to acting as a constituency Director of Elections in the last two general elections in Ireland.

Queen of Spies fills a big gap... richly entertaining biography
The Guardian - Richard Norton Taylor

Writing a biography of Daphne Park was never going to be easy and Paddy Hayes has done a very good job
Daily Telegraph

A remarkable biography of a remarkable woman - providing real insight into MI6 of the Cold War
Gordon Corera, author MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret Service

Daphne Park was truly the empress of British espionage. This book is a major contribution to understanding her fascinating career in MI6. Remarkably well-researched, it is required reading for anyone interested in the world of secret service
Professor Richard J Aldrich, author ofGCQH: The Uncensored Story of Britain's Most Secret Intelligence Agency

A thoroughly researched and enlightening account
Times Literary Supplement

As exciting as any good spy thriller-but it s all true
Kirkus

A wonderful new book that would make a great gift for anyone
Irish Daily Mail

This book was entertaining and thrilling, yet also informative and thought-provoking. It has explored many aspects of history and displays Hayes' passion for the intelligence service. It has a wide appeal to anyone who enjoys history or simply a good story
Bookbag

The only biography on Baroness Park and it fills a big gap. Hayes has produced an interesting and informative work
CIA Review of Books

Hayes is open about his own speculations, given the still-classified nature of much of this material, but he successfully conveys the inspiring nature of Park's personal story and achievements, offering an informative account of the Cold War and the workings of the supersecret SIS
Publishers Weekly

A fascinating and long-overdue biography
Washington Post

The fascinating story of the evolution of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) from World War II to the Cold War through the eyes of Daphne Park, one of its outstanding and most unusual operatives. He provides the reader with one of the most intimate narratives yet of how the modern SIS actually went about its business whether in Moscow, Hanoi, or the Congo.
Sunday Leader, Sri Lanka

An interesting and informative work
The Intelligencer

Hayes's accomplished biography circumvents the scanty evidence by offering a broader portrait of the Secret Service itself, a badly compromised men's club in which the forthright Park still managed to succeed.
The Sunday Telegraph

only the second-ever biography published about a Cold War career officer in MI6.
The Big Issue

Dame Daphne's story leaves us wondering about reality as seen through the eyes of a spy; and about how far spy work affected that reality.
The Spectator

Hayes deftly manages to chart her extraordinary life... that read like passages from a thriller.
Country Life

This is an excellent biography of a remarkable woman... Intelligence researcher Hayes opens the door on the fascinating life of one of England's greatest spies, Daphne Park... As exciting as any good spy thriller but it's all true.
Kirkus